Icarus

In the heart of Detrot City, the Unnatural Entity Investigation Agency (or, the UEIA) headquarters lay dull and boring. Business had been slow, lately. Their purpose was to investigate any unnatural or strange entities that would appear in random parts of Equestria, whether dangerous or harmless. The agency was started twelve odd years ago, after a number of strange creatures and other entities had started popping up at random, and many of them were hostile. Luckily, the number of civilian casualties had only been four, so no uproar was caused.

The Princessess could only cover so much of the land themselves, so they requested the agency to be created, so as to make life easier. And it did for the first nine years, until it seemed like the number of entities dropped significantly, and the UEIA was needed less and less.

Still, it was wise to keep the agency open if anything did pop up, which did happen once in a while. New recruits were constantly hired and trained vigorously, and at the end, divided into the field most appropriate for them. Among these recruits was a unicorn named Venus.

Eighteen years old, she was a new recruit, and had been in apprenticeship for the last two years of her highschool education, giving her early experience in the UEIA so that she was prepared to join. The youngest recruit in the entire agency, she was one of the best, getting the job done fast and efficiently. It was best not to be fooled by her looks, however.

A light-fandango colored coat and a dark-orchid colored mane, cutely tied and braided into a ponytail, and magenta eyes were just a beautiful mask in front of the tough, skilled-fighter personality Venus had. She was not one to toy with, and was more than willing to lay a beating down on someone who deserved it. She wasn't very easy to anger, but once she was, she was not a force to cross. Especially when stallions always told her she had a nice plot.

Venus trotted through the main lobby, circular, with blue walls and a white border. On either side of the heavy entrance doors sat multiple black, squashy chairs, and a large white desk in the center with a rather grumpy looking unicorn writing notes.

"Afternoon, Deet." Venus greeted cheerfully as she passed, and got a grunt of acknowledgement in return. She gave the same greeting to everypony she passed, until she reached the cafeteria, where she bought herself a tray of food and sat down. She pulled a report from an escaped fire entity out of the pocket of her dark blue jack and opened it.

Entity No. : #431-A

Hostile? : Yes

Status : Not Captured

Description: 431-A appears to be some form of bipedal creature composed entirely of flames, generating a heat of up to 600° C. 431-A's height varies, depending on how many fuel sources are in the proximity of it, but the tallest it's been seen is 11'5" (eleven-foot-five-inches).

Proximity Instructions : If any UEIA agents are to approach 431-A, utmost caution must be used. It has been reported to attack via lobbing fireballs, or using its own body to consume agents in flames. Proper fire-retardant clothing/suits are mandatory, and no UEIA agent will be permitted to pursue 431-A without it.

Other: 431-A is capable of growing in size, depending on how much fuel (flammable objects) is within proximity. It is also capable of duplicating itself. 431-A was last seen in the Neightherlands starting forest fires.

The attached picture was of a terrifying looking, and oddly shaped creature made of flames. Not pony-like in the slightest.

So, that was Venus' fourth mission. Capture 431-A and bring it in for containment and eventual disposal. Too easy.

Well, a lot easier than #429, which was a bloodthirsty giant reptilian creature who almost swallowed her whole. THAT took quite a bit to take care of, and there wasn't a chance she could do it herself.

"Hey, Venus," chirped Venus' friend, Aqua, an aqua-blue unicorn mare, sitting beside her friend.

"Hey." Venus greeted, stuffing half a sandwich into her mouth and chewing quickly.

"What's the rush?" Aqua asked, an eyebrow raised.

"Gowwa go 'o wuh head'f offife." Venus replies with a full mouth, inciting a giggle from Aqua.

"Swallow it, then speak," she smiled.

Venus finished chewing and swallowed. "That's what she said. Anyway, I'm gonna go to the head's office."

"The head? Why?" Aqua asked. Venus burped quietly.

"Find out more about this," she said, poking the picture of 431-A.

Aqua examined the picture and gasped. "No way, you're NOT going after that?"

Venus slurped her Jell-O and nodded.

"Aqua, Colter was KILLED by that thing," hissed Aqua.

She got a blank expression in return.

"Colter was the BEST agent in the UEIA." Aqua said matter-of-factually. Venus smirked.

"So?"

"'So?' Ven, this thing will burn you ALIVE," groaned Aqua irritably.

"It can't hurt me if it can't catch me," chuckled Venus, finishing her lunch, putting the file back in her pocket, and getting up. "Gotta get going, talk later, Aqua."

And with that, she trotted off to the head's office.

Minutes later...

"Enter," said a rough voice from behind a maple colored door. Venus turned the knob and entered. The source of the voice, Hart, leader of the UEIA, smiled. "Venus. Come in, come in," he said softly. He was a dark-blue pegasus with a black, greying mane, cut short, and blue eyes.

Venus closed the door behind her and sat herself in the black-leather armchair in front of the brown desk. The office was plain. Just a desk in the center, a small window at the back, two shelves on either side filled with books and files, and khaki-brown walls.

"So, how can I help you?" Hart asked, setting a quill down.

Venus silently put the file on his desk. "I could use more info on this thing."

Hart took a look at the file, hmming. He looked up and surveyed the dark-orchid mare with a curious expression.

Venus stared at him for a few moments. "Oh. I'm going to capture it for you," she said as though it were a simple chore.

Hart tilted his head. "You're going to try and go after it?"

"Not try," laughed Venus. "I WILL get it."

Hart sighed. "Venus, Co--"

"Colter was killed, yes, I know." Venus rolled her magenta eyes. "Colter was a great guy, but he just rushed into things."

"So do you," laughed Hart playfully. Venus also giggled.

"Maybe so," she said, smiling. "But I have a STRATEGY rush."

"Oh, THAT'S what you call it." Hart laughed again, but went serious. "Venus, you can't be serious."

Venus also went serious. "I'm dead serious. I want to catch it."

"I know you're eager, but you can't just canter on over an' expect to just take it out," sighed Hart.

"I know THAT." Venus said. Her left ear twitched anxiously. "But I have a strategy. I know what I can do."

"Strategy or not, this thing is dangerous," said Hart softly, frowning. "You're just one mare."

"I-I know, sir, but--"

"And if it can kill an entire team, it can sure as hell kill one mare."

"Yes, but--"

"Besides, you're a rookie."

"I am, but--"

"And while you're an outstanding agent, I'm going to have to deny you going after it."

"But, sir--"

"And that's final."

Venus' happy mood faded into disappointment. "O-Okay..."

Hart frowned. "I'm sorry, Venus,' he said sincerely.

"It's alright..." Venus grumbled, getting up. "I'll be in my dorm."

She left the room, pouting.

The hearing had gone much better than Icarus had thought it would. Indeed, he was sentenced to many hours of community service starting in eight days time, but it was a small price to pay for freedom. Now, Icarus was completely worry-free once more, and his mood was instantly lifted.

Walking out of the courthouse with his parents, and Sprinkle, whom was going to stay at his place for the night (Oak and Diamond managed to convince Sprinkle's father that they wouldn't do anything and that they would be sleeping in separate rooms; Icarus weren't planning on it, anyhow). Sprinkle had gotten the same sentence as Icarus.

Icarus and Diamond walked off to the side, while Sprinkle and Oak talked.

Diamond peered at her son to the right, a small smile on her face. Icarus felt her gaze on him and tried holding back a grin, but failed.

"Theeeeere's that handsome smile," giggled Diamond. Icarus chuckled as well. "What did I tell you?" she asked playfully.

"Alright, alright, you were right." Icarus laughed.

"No no, come on, what did I tell you?"

"That everything would be alright," snickered Icarus.

"Aaaaaand was it?" Diamond asked cutely, inciting a giggle from her son.

"Yes, mother, it was alright. I'm sorry for doubting you," he smiled brightly at his mother, sounding much more cheerful.

Diamond tousled her greying pale-lavender mane so that it was back to its former glory, and playfully nudged Icarus.

"Never doubt your mother," she said wisely. "I may not be the wisest mare, but I know a thing or two."

"Yes, yes, mother, I know." Icarus smiled, stepping aside and unfurling his wings.

They were truly a sight to see. Unfurled, they gave off a reflective glow and looked wonderful. Each and every feather was shiny, almost like a bar of gold.

"Ohhhh, yeah..." Icarus groaned. "Feels good to stretch them after so long."

"I'll bet." Diamond smiled, running her hoof along his left wing. "You groomed it well."

"Pfft, didn't groom it at all." Icarus smiled. He looked ahead and saw Oak talking to Sprinkle. "Hey, you mind if I grab a bite with Sprinkle?"

"Not at all, hunny." Diamond nodded and smiled.

Icarus used his wings to propel himself forward, to the left of Sprinkle. Oak smirked.

"I'm gonna go and see how your mother's doing, Icarus," he said, and stopped, waiting for Diamond to catch up.

Sprinkle looked at Icarus and smiled. Icarus returned it.

"Wanna get a bite to eat? It's on me," he said happily.

Sprinkle nodded. "Sure, where to?"

Icarus shrugged lazily. "I dunno. Wherever."

The two of them discussed where they would eat, until they reached the Seaddle Plaza, where they decided on their favorite pizzeria.

Something was approaching Seaddle quickly. Not pony. Not any kind of natural creature. It burned and demolished anything in its path. And with a city like Seaddle, that meant big trouble... It got closer and closer every minute... Would it be hours? Days? Who knows...

Written by Kerry Leventis, AKA Minimoog Voyager